morality – On the Human http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human a project of the National Humanities Center Thu, 14 Sep 2017 16:39:50 +0000 en-US hourly 1 The Future of Moral Machines http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/12/the-future-of-moral-machines/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/12/the-future-of-moral-machines/#comments Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:09:42 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=3057 Continue reading The Future of Moral Machines

]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/12/the-future-of-moral-machines/feed/ 19 Whole-Body Apoptosis and the Meanings of Lives http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/12/whole-body-apoptosis/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/12/whole-body-apoptosis/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:24:44 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=3011 Continue reading Whole-Body Apoptosis and the Meanings of Lives

]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/12/whole-body-apoptosis/feed/ 8 One Man’s Meat: Further Thoughts on the Evolution of Animal Food Taboos http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/11/one-mans-meat/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/11/one-mans-meat/#comments Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:42:12 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=2965 Although meat is said to be the most highly prized category of food in the majority of human cultures, it is also, according to a recent ethnographic survey, “vastly more likely to be the target of food taboos,” than any other type of edible substance.[1] People throughout the world display strong aversions to killing and

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]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/11/one-mans-meat/feed/ 20 Challenges for a Humanoid Robot http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/06/challenges-for-a-humanoid-robot/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/06/challenges-for-a-humanoid-robot/#comments Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:39:03 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=2455 Star Wars character C3PO is so convincingly depicted that we may have to remind ourselves that there was no real robot behind the elegant mannequin. The passage of time has not remedied this deficiency; nor, alas, have I a blueprint to offer. I do believe, however, that it will repay us to identify some attributes a robot would need in order to count as humanoid. By clearly distinguishing among such features, and considering what our attitudes toward such a device might be, we can enrich our understanding of what it is to be human.

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]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/06/challenges-for-a-humanoid-robot/feed/ 19 Enhancing Moral Status? http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/05/enhancing-moral-status/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/05/enhancing-moral-status/#comments Mon, 23 May 2011 16:47:52 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=2436 robust human enhancement—i.e. creation of people with highly augmented or highly novel capacities through technological modification of (or integration with) their biological systems. Robust human enhancement raises justice, equity and access issues; parental rights and child welfare issues; naturalness and species boundary issues; individual and social benefit and risk issues; personal choice and liberty issues; and public policy issues related to regulation and research funding.

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]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/05/enhancing-moral-status/feed/ 6 The Political Economy of Personhood http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/04/political-economy-of-personhood/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/04/political-economy-of-personhood/#comments Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:16:51 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=2160 Continue reading The Political Economy of Personhood

]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/04/political-economy-of-personhood/feed/ 10 Do People Actually Believe in Objective Moral Truths? http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/12/objective-moral-truths/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/12/objective-moral-truths/#comments Tue, 14 Dec 2010 03:27:55 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=1834 Imagine two people discussing a question in mathematics. One of them says “7,497 is a prime number,” while the other says, “7,497 is not a prime number.” In a case like this one, we would probably conclude that there is a single right answer and that anyone who says otherwise must be mistaken. The question

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]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/12/objective-moral-truths/feed/ 35 The Meat Eaters http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/09/the-meat-eaters/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/09/the-meat-eaters/#comments Sat, 18 Sep 2010 18:26:15 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=1414 Viewed from a distance, the natural world often presents a vista of sublime, majestic placidity. Yet beneath the foliage and hidden from the distant eye, a vast, unceasing slaughter rages. Wherever there is animal life, predators are stalking, chasing, capturing, killing, and devouring their

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]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/09/the-meat-eaters/feed/ 68 Hunting and Science http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2009/11/hunting-and-science/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2009/11/hunting-and-science/#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:36:45 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=623 The use of hounds in hunting excites great passions. Hunting deer is particularly hated by those who are opposed to it and ardently loved by those who support it. If you wept as a child at the death of Bambi’s mother, you know what it is like to be hunted. On the other side, the

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